Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Aarhus, 7 November 2019
Company announcement No. 16/2019
Vestas Interim financial report, third quarter 2019
Summary: Revenue, earnings, and free cash flow increased compared to last year’s third quarter. Solid order intake in the quarter and combined order backlog at all-time high level. Guidance for 2019 maintained.
In the third quarter of 2019, Vestas generated revenue of EUR 3,646m – an increase of 30 percent compared to the year-earlier period. EBIT before special items increased by EUR 153m to EUR 429m. The EBIT margin before special items was 11.8 percent compared to 9.8 percent in the third quarter of 2018, and free cash flow* amounted to EUR 205m compared to EUR (223)m in the third quarter of 2018.
The intake of firm and unconditional wind turbine orders amounted to 4,738 MW in the third quarter of 2019.
The value of the wind turbine order backlog amounted to EUR 16.5bn as at 30 September 2019. In addition to the wind turbine order backlog, Vestas had service agreements with expected contractual future revenue of EUR 16.3bn at the end of September 2019. Thus, the value of the combined backlog of wind turbine orders and service agreements stood at EUR 32.8bn – an increase of EUR 9.1bn compared to the year-earlier period.
Vestas maintains its 2019 guidance on revenue of EUR 11bn-12.25bn, EBIT margin before special items of 8-9 percent, and total investments* of approx. EUR 800m.
Group President & CEO Henrik Andersen said: “Vestas’ performance in the third quarter of 2019 was in line with expectations with a 30 percent increase year-over-year in revenue driven by all regions, reflecting unprecedented high activity levels. Our order backlog increased to a record-high EUR 32.8bn, which corresponds to a 38 percent increase year-over-year and underlines the continued strong global demand for Vestas’ wind energy solutions. Although our Service business continued to grow with high margins and the average selling price was stable in the quarter, our profitability remains impacted by tariffs and increased execution costs. With an order intake of more than 13 GW already in 2019 and a very busy 2020 ahead, we continue our relentless focus on execution and profitability, which enable us to sustain our competitiveness and lead the way towards a sustainable planet”.
Key highlights
Increased order intake and all-time high order backlog
4.7 GW of order intake in Q3; combined backlog up 38 percent YoY.
Total revenue of EUR 3,646m driven by all regions
30 percent increase compared to Q3 2018.
EBIT of EUR 429m
EBIT margin at 11.8 percent.
Strong service performance
Revenue growth of 8 percent, and EBIT of EUR 125m.
Share buy-back programme
EUR 200m share buy-back programme launched to adjust the capital structure.
Outlook 2019
Unchanged guidance for revenue, EBIT margin, and investments; service revenue upgraded.
*) Excl. the acquisition of SoWiTec Group GmbH, any investments in marketable securities, and short-term financial investments.
Information meeting (audiocast)
Today, Thursday 7 November 2019 at 10 a.m. CET (9 a.m. GMT), Vestas will host an information meeting via an audiocast. The audiocast will be accessible via vestas.com/investor.
The meeting will be held in English and questions may be asked through a conference call.
The telephone numbers for the conference call are:
Europe: +44 333 300 0804
(conference code 83452829#)
USA: +1 631 913 1422
(conference code 83452829#)
Denmark: +45 3544 5577
(conference code 83452829#)
Presentation material for the information meeting will be available at vestas.com/investor approximately one hour before the meeting.
Contact details
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Denmark
Patrik Setterberg, Vice President,
Investor Relations
Tel: +45 6122 1913
Attachment
